Samsung Galaxy Alpha leak: semi-metallic mini Galaxy S5

Word has been going around that Samsung is preparing a certain Galaxy Alpha, not the premium Galaxy F/Galaxy S5 Prime that has not yet come to pass (unless you count the Galaxy S5 LTE-A in Korea). A bunch of leaked photos and specs have recently come out that paints a somewhat curious picture of this smartphone, which some are poising to be a more direct iPhone rival.

That last bit alone might already raise eyebrows, ruffle feathers, and cause smirks, but let's try to see why some see the Galaxy Alpha this way. First is the fact, or rather the rumor, that this will finally be the metallic smartphone that many have been hoping Samsung would make for years now. This is somewhat confirmed by this batch of leaked photos, at least partly. It seems that Samsung really finds it hard to detach itself from old habits, so even if the phone uses aluminum at the sides, it retains that perforated faux-leather back cover it started with the Galaxy S5. Not completely premium looking, but the textured cover does afford a better grip.

As for the specs, the Galaxy Alpha seems to sit in between the high-end Galaxy S5 and its mid-level Galaxy S5 mini counterpart. There is a 4.7-inch screen said to be similar to the Galaxy S III, which could mean many things, including a 720p resolution. The CPU and RAM are unknown but internal storage is rumored to be fixed at 32 GB. The curious thing about that is that there will be no microSD card slot this time, definitely something new for Samsung, though probably much to Google's liking and, yes, similar to an iPhone. Other similarities include a fingerprint scanner, which the Galaxy S5 already has anyway, and, surprisingly, a nano SIM card slot. LTE support is included, believed to be courtesy of the new Exynos ModAP chip.

The feature set and size definitely sounds eerily like an iPhone, especially when you consider that the iPhone 6, or at least one of the two, is believed to come with a 4.7-inch display. Should these two devices match up a bit, we will surely see another round of tirades and finger-pointing between the two arch rivals and their loyal fans. Samsung, however, might beat Apple to the punch as the Galaxy Alpha is expected to be announced sometime in August, while the iPhone 6 will come later in September.